Everything Everywhere All At Once

  

    Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film that was entertaining from start to finish. Outside of Swiss Army Man  I've never seen such creativity that takes itself both seriously and has comedic value. It shows that great films don't need huge budgets to be Oscar winning. In comparison EEAAO had a budget of 14 million while its other counterparts were in the 400 million budget range. Having a shorter budget produces more creativity with the materials and thought out locations. The Daniels illustrates this story with cinematography, editing, and lighting to create the immersive and complex universe that spans across the multiverse to tell a story of kindness. The lens in which they tell this story uses a variety of angles of close ups, wide shots, over the shoulder, color, theme, and snapshots. Additionally, the movie is shot on Arri Alexa Mini to emphasize the more extreme differences in parallel universes which can switch back and forth on style. 

    The multiple shots and splits in screens creates an intense visual that tells the story of a mother swept up in her life and unable to make connections with those she loves. This demonstrates the struggles of immigrant families trying to make a life in America but also the cultural conflicts that make them so unique. Evelyn struggles to accept Joy fully even blaming Jobu Tupaki for the reason Joy is gay. This shows the “theme of generational trauma” (Bertin Huynh) that she experienced with her father and is thus pushing in her daughter. In response, Joy makes the bagel because she wants to end all of the Joy’s suffering in every universe. Once you experience everything for a fraction of a second nothing truly matters. This is what I like most about the film because life is what you make of it as Evelyn and Joy puts it, “nothing matters.” (EEAAO) then you can make what you want of life. Then everything that matters is important.

 Huynh, Bertin. “The West Misses the Point of Everything Everywhere All at Once – It Gets the Asian Psyche.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 May 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/16/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-asian-hollywood-film.